Henry Siddons Mowbray (August 5, 1858 – 1928) was an American

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

. He executed various painting commissions for J.P. Morgan, F.W. Vanderbilt, and other clients. He served as director of the American Academy in Rome from 1902 to 1904.

Early life

Mowbray was born of English parents at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. His father, John Henry Siddons, represented a British bank in Alexandria; he died of

hyperthermia Hyperthermia, also known as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extreme te ...

a year after his son was born. Mowbray's mother moved to America with her son. When Mowbray was five, his mother died, burnt alive in a domestic accident caused by lamp fuel. Left an orphan, the boy was adopted by his aunt, his mother's sister, and her husband, George Mowbray. The family settled at

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the home of the largest contempor ...

. After a year at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point, he went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and entered the

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

of Leon Bonnat in 1879, his first picture, ''Aladdin'', bringing him to public notice. He studied with Bonnat until 1883.

Artistic career

In 1886, he became a member of the

Society of American Artists The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative. The group began meeting in 1874 at the home of ...

. His painting ''Evening Breeze'' received the Clark Prize at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

in 1888, and he was elected to associate membership in the academy. He was made a full member of the academy in 1891. Subsequently, Mowbray was best known for his decorative work, especially the ceiling for the

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

of F. W. Vanderbilt in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

, circa 1899; and ''The Transmission of the Law'', Appellate Court House; the ceilings in J.P. Morgan's

Library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and The Morgan Library & Museum's Annex building; as well as the ceiling and walls of the library of the University Club, all in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. This last was executed in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where, in 1903, he was made director of the American Academy. Other works include murals in the homes of C.P. Huntington and

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later ''chargé d'affaires ...

; and the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio. He taught at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

circa 1901. He was a member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1921 to 1928. Among Mowbray's pupils were the painters Mortimer Lichtenauer, Florence Wolf Gotthold and Clara Taggart MacChesney.Petteys, Chris, ''Dictionary of Women Artists: An international dictionary of women artists born before 1900'', G.K. Hall & Co., Boston, 1985 p. 458

Notes

References

* * Attribution: *

External links

Mowbray page at artrenewal.org

Discussion of Mowbray's work in the Rotunda of the Morgan Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mowbray, Henry Siddons 1858 births 1928 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters Art Students League of New York faculty American muralists American male painters American Orientalist painters National Academy of Design members 20th-century American male artists British expatriates in Egypt British emigrants to the United States

Early life

Artistic career

See also

Notes

References

External links